Beverage Container Cooling System and Method

ABSTRACT

A beverage held in a container is rapidly cooled by placing the container in a flexible sleeve defining a sleeve chamber that is cooled, either directly or by a secondary loop of heat transfer fluid, by a closed refrigeration circuit. An agitation assembly is selectively operable to oscillate the sleeve about a yaw axis. During active cooling, a cooled fluid (such as refrigerant or a secondary heat transfer fluid) flows through the sleeve chamber while the agitation assembly is simultaneously operated to rapidly cool the beverage held within the container.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to refrigeration systems andmethods, and more specifically to systems and methods for rapidlychilling beverage containers and beverages contained therein.

BACKGROUND

Many types of beverages, such as soda, water, juice, beer, and wine, arepreferably consumed at temperatures that are colder than the ambienttemperature. For example, desirable beverage temperatures may be 45° F.or colder. Accordingly, consumers typically cool the beverage to thedesired temperature using any one of several known cooling techniques,such as placing the beverage container in a refrigerator, freezer, orcooler full of ice, or adding ice directly to the beverage. Cooling abeverage in a refrigerator or cooler of ice typically takes severalhours to reach the desired temperature, which is often more time than aconsumer is willing to wait. While using a freezer may shorten thecooling time, it may still take approximately 20 minutes to reach thedesired temperature, introduces the risk of freezing the beverage, andmay cause uneven cooling of the beverage. Directly adding ice mayquickly cool the beverage to the desired temperature but may not bedesired for certain types of beverages. Additionally, many types ofbeverage containers do not readily admit ice, and this approach alsorequires the availability of a source of ice.

In many instances, a consumer will often desire to purchase a beveragefor immediate consumption. In view of the time and effort involved tochill a beverage from ambient temperature to the desired drinkingtemperature, retail locations (such as supermarkets and conveniencestores) will often include one or more refrigerator units for storing atleast a portion of the beverages available for sale. The refrigeratorunits typically have a capacity that is sufficiently large to meet anexpected demand for each beverage over a given period of time. Somebeverages may remain stored in refrigerator units for a several hours ordays before they are purchased, and therefore these unpurchasedbeverages are cooled for an unnecessarily long period of time.Consequently, conventional refrigerator units used to cool beverages inretail locations may waste energy and have increased costs due toovercapacity. These issues may be exacerbated when the demand forbeverages is lower than expected, resulting in a larger number ofunpurchased beverages being stored at the cooled temperature for longerperiods of time. Alternatively, if the capacity of the refrigerator unitis too small, the retailer may lose sales due to the unavailability ofbeverages at the desired drinking temperature.

Systems and methods for providing rapid, on-demand chilling of beveragecontainers have been proposed, but have proven unfeasible for use inretail locations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,093 to Fink et al.discloses a beverage container cooling system that provides acylindrical array of rigid chill elements configured to receive thecontainer. The chill elements, however, limit the types of containersthat may be used in the system and offer a limited amount of directcontact with the container outer surface, thereby reducing the amount ofheat transfer therebetween. U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,313 to Barrash disclosesa beverage container cooling system having an inflatable, ribbed innercollar for receiving the beverage container and an outer inflatablecollar positioned to selectively press inwardly on the inner collar toforce the inner collar into contact with the container. The Barrashsystem, therefore, requires multiple, interacting inflatable componentsthat still result in limited contact (and therefore limited heattransfer) with the container. Furthermore, neither Fink et al. orBarrash appear to provide systems capable of chilling a beverage fromambient temperature to drinking temperature in a sufficiently shortperiod of time to be feasible for use in a retail location.

More recently, a rapid cooling system for a beverage container has beenproposed that will quickly chill the container, but may be unsuitablefor frequent, repeated use and may require an excessive amount of powerto operate. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0000312 A1 toSmith et al. discloses a container cooling method and apparatus using aheat transfer fluid to cool the container. Smith et al. suggest that asingle container may be cooled in 10-20 seconds, but to enable the useof smaller, more economical components, Smith et al. suggest that acooling operation be performed only once every one to two minutes. Thelow frequency cooling method and apparatus of Smith et al., therefore,may be inadequate for higher volume retail locations.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus isprovided for chilling a product container holding a beverage. Theapparatus includes a refrigeration circuit including a compressor, acondenser, and an evaporator, the refrigeration circuit being configuredto provide a refrigerant in the evaporator at a temperature of less thanapproximately −40° C. A sleeve assembly has a sleeve base and a flexiblesleeve coupled to the base and defining a longitudinal sleeve axis, theflexible sleeve defining a sleeve receptacle configured to receive theproduct container and a sleeve chamber thermally coupled to theevaporator. An agitation assembly is operably coupled to the sleeve baseand configured to pivot the sleeve assembly about a yaw axissubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal sleeve axis, and acontroller is operably coupled to the compressor and agitation assembly.

In another aspect of the disclosure that may be combined with any ofthese aspects, an apparatus is provided for chilling a productcontainer. The apparatus includes a refrigeration circuit including acompressor, a condenser, and an evaporator, the refrigeration circuitbeing configured to provide a refrigerant in the evaporator at atemperature of less than approximately −40° C. A sleeve assembly has asleeve base and a flexible sleeve coupled to the base and defining alongitudinal sleeve axis, the flexible sleeve defining a sleevereceptacle configured to receive the product container and a sleevechamber thermally coupled to the evaporator. An agitation assembly isoperably coupled to the sleeve base and configured to pivot the sleeveassembly about a yaw axis substantially perpendicular to thelongitudinal sleeve axis across a yaw angle α and at an oscillationfrequency f to provide an Agitation Index of approximately 90-450°/sec.

In another aspect of the disclosure that may be combined with any ofthese aspects, an apparatus is provided for chilling a product containerthat includes a refrigeration circuit having a compressor, a condenser,and an evaporator, the refrigeration circuit being configured to providea refrigerant in the evaporator at a temperature of less thanapproximately −40° C. A sleeve assembly has a sleeve base and a flexiblesleeve coupled to the base and defining a longitudinal sleeve axis, theflexible sleeve defining a sleeve receptacle configured to receive theproduct container and a sleeve chamber thermally coupled to theevaporator. An agitation assembly is operably coupled to the sleeve baseand configured to oscillate the sleeve, the agitation assembly includingan agitator motor. A controller is operably coupled to the compressorand agitator motor, the controller having an active mode in which thecompressor and agitator motor are operated to provide a PerformanceIndex of approximately 160-7,200,000 mL-K/hr.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Those of skill in the art will understand that the drawings portrayedand described are for illustration purposes only and not intended tolimit the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a system level schematic illustration of a beverage containercooling system having a heat transfer fluid reservoir, configuredaccording to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a system level schematic illustration of an alternative directexpansion beverage container cooling system, configured according to thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a more detailed schematic illustration of the beveragecontainer cooling system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an agitation assembly that may beused in the beverage container cooling system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an oscillation cycle performed bythe agitation assembly of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of systems and methods of quickly chilling a productcontainer are described herein. More specifically, beverage containercooling systems and methods provide a low temperature heat transferfluid to a flexible sleeve disposed around the container. An agitationassembly is configured to oscillate the sleeve, thereby to more quicklyand uniformly transfer heat from the beverage and container to the heattransfer fluid. The systems and methods may be capable of cooling abeverage from ambient temperature to a desired drinking temperaturewithin a specified cooling period, may have a capacity and/or recoveryperiod to allow subsequent cooling operations to quickly take place, andmay deliver a desired amount of cooling while maintaining powerrequirements under an available power limit, all of which make thesystems and methods suitable for use in a retail store or similarenvironment where on demand cooling is advantageous.

In some embodiments, certain components are described as being“thermally coupled” or being located in “thermal conductive relation” toone another. As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms“thermally coupled” or “thermal conductive relation” means that thecomponents are placed in sufficient proximity to one another such thatheat is transferred therebetween. Also as used herein, unless otherwisespecified, cooling the container refers to cooling of both the containerand the container contents, such as a beverage.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of abeverage container cooling system 20 for rapidly chilling a container 22holding a beverage. The container 22 may be constructed of metal, glass,plastic, or any other known container material. The container may alsohave a variety of shapes, and in some embodiments may be a cylindricalcontainer. The container may store any beverage to be chilled to adesired drinking temperature, such as soda, water, beer, juice, a coffeedrink, or wine. While the beverage container cooling system 20 is shownfor use with a single container 22, it may be configured to receivemultiple containers simultaneously.

The beverage container cooling system 20 includes a refrigerationcircuit 30 for cooling a refrigerant to a desired operating temperature.The refrigerant may be a synthetic refrigerant (such ashydrofluoroolefins, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and hydrofluorocarbons) ora natural refrigerant (such as carbon dioxide, ammonia, or a hydrocarbon[e.g., propane, iso-butane, etc.]). In the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 3, the refrigeration circuit 30 is shown having an auto-cascadeconfiguration, however other types of refrigeration circuitconfigurations may be used. As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerationcircuit 30 may include a first refrigeration loop 32 and a secondrefrigeration loop 34. The first refrigeration loop 32 has a compressor36, an oil separator 38, and a condenser 40. A phase separator 42 isdisposed in the first refrigeration loop 32 and separates therefrigerant into a primarily liquid component directed into a downstreamportion of the first refrigeration loop 32 and a primarily vaporcomponent directed into an inlet of the second refrigeration loop 34.The downstream portion of the first refrigeration loop 32 includes afilter dryer 44 and an expansion device 46 before returning to thesuction side of the compressor 36.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the secondrefrigeration loop 34 includes a portion that is disposed in heatconductive relation to a corresponding portion of the firstrefrigeration loop 32 to form a first internal heat exchanger 48, whichmay alternatively be referred to as an evaporative condenser. Downstreamof the first internal heat exchanger 48, respective portions of supplyand return segments 34 a, 34 b of the second refrigeration loop 34 maybe positioned in heat conductive relation to form a second internal heatexchanger 50. While two internal heat exchangers 58, 50 are shown, itwill be appreciated that other embodiments may employ a single internalheat exchanger or no internal heat exchanger. Downstream of the secondinternal heat exchanger 50, the second refrigeration loop 34 includes afilter dryer 52, an expansion device 54, and an evaporator 56. Inoperation, refrigeration circuit 30, whether provided in an auto-cascadeconfiguration as shown in FIG. 3 or in other configurations, may coolrefrigerant to an operating temperature of less than approximately −40°C. In other embodiments, the refrigeration circuit 30 providesrefrigerant at an operating temperature of less than approximately −65°C.

In the exemplary illustrated embodiment, the beverage container coolingsystem 20 may also include an optional fluid reservoir 60 for storing atleast a portion of the overall cooling capacity of the system. As shownin FIGS. 1 and 4, the fluid reservoir 60 defines a reservoir chamber 62for holding a heat transfer fluid 64. The heat transfer fluid 64 maycomprise pure or mixtures of alcohols, brines, oils, glycols,refrigerants (natural and/or synthetic), or other fluids. At least aportion of the reservoir chamber 62 is located in thermal conductiverelation to the evaporator 56 of the refrigeration circuit 30.Accordingly, a predetermined volume of heat transfer fluid 64 may becooled to a desired fluid temperature, such as less than approximately−40° C. and, in some embodiments, less than approximately −65° C. Thecooled heat transfer fluid 64 disposed in the fluid reservoir 60 may beselectively deployed to provide a readily available amount of cooling.

The beverage container cooling system 20 may further include a sleeveassembly 70 configured to interface with and cool the container 22. Asshown in FIG. 1, the sleeve assembly 70 may include a sleeve base 72 anda flexible sleeve 74 coupled to the sleeve base 72. The flexible sleeve74 may define a sleeve receptacle 76 configured to receive the container22. In the illustrated embodiment, the sleeve receptacle 76 includes asleeve sidewall 78 configured to engage a sidewall of the container 22and a sleeve bottom wall 80 configured to engage a bottom wall of thecontainer 22. The sleeve 74 further defines a sleeve chamber 82. Thesleeve chamber 82 may extend between the sleeve base 72 and the sleeve74 as shown, or the sleeve 74 may include an outer wall opposite thesleeve receptacle 76 so that the sleeve chamber 82 is self-containedwithin the sleeve 74.

The sleeve chamber 82 may fluidly communicate with the reservoir chamber62 to selectively receive cooled heat transfer fluid 64. As best shownin FIGS. 1 and 3, a sleeve inlet line 84 may extend between thereservoir chamber 62 and a sleeve inlet port 86. A pump 88 may bedisposed in the sleeve inlet line 84 and oriented to draw heat transferfluid from the reservoir chamber 62 and discharge it into the sleevechamber 82. A sleeve outlet line 90 may extend between a sleeve outletport 92 and the reservoir chamber 62 to return heat transfer fluid fromthe sleeve chamber 82 to the reservoir chamber 62. The pump 88,therefore, generates a mass flow rate R of heat transfer fluid throughthe sleeve chamber 82 that may be altered to affect the rate at whichthe container 22 is cooled. In an exemplary embodiment, the mass flowrate R of heat transfer fluid may be approximately 50 to 150grams/second.

As best shown in FIG. 3, a bypass line 94 may extend between the sleeveinlet line 84 and the sleeve outlet line 90. A sleeve inlet valve 96,sleeve bypass valve 98, and sleeve outlet valve 100 may be disposed inthe sleeve inlet line 84, sleeve bypass line 94, and sleeve outlet line90, respectively, to control the flow of heat transfer fluid through thesleeve chamber 82.

In an alternative embodiment illustrated at FIG. 2, the fluid reservoir60 may be omitted and the refrigeration circuit 30 may directly interactwith the sleeve assembly 70. Defined herein as a “direct expansion”system 200, in this alternative embodiment, the cooled refrigerant wouldbe communicated directly to the sleeve chamber 82, thereby eliminatingthe intermediate heat transfer step provided by the fluid reservoir 60,so that the refrigerant circulating through the refrigeration circuit 30would serve as the heat transfer fluid.

The sleeve 74 may be formed of a sleeve material having low contactresistance and high heat conductivity to promote heat transfer betweenthe container 22 and the heat transfer fluid. A highly pliable orflexible material will reduce the contact resistance of the sleeve 74,thereby allowing it to expand to match the container shape based on thepressure of heat transfer fluid flowing through the sleeve chamber 82.For example, the sleeve 74 may expand from a normal position to anexpanded position when the pressure of the heat transfer fluid in thesleeve chamber 82 is increased.

More specifically, the sleeve 74 may assume the normal position whenthere is no or low pressure flow of heat transfer fluid through thesleeve chamber 82. In the normal position, shown in phantom lines 74 ain FIG. 1, the sleeve receptacle 76 is relatively loose and pliant topermit insertion of the container 22. During active cooling, when heattransfer fluid pressure is relatively high, the sleeve receptacle 76assumes the expanded position where it is forced into the exteriorsurface of the container 22 to closely engage the container 22. In theillustrated embodiment, not only does the sleeve sidewall 78 engage thecontainer 22, but also the sleeve bottom wall 80, thereby increasing theamount of surface area of the container 22 in contact with the sleeve74. Furthermore, a material with low contact resistance will conformmore closely to the surface of the container 22, thereby increasing theamount of container surface area in intimate contact with the sleeve 74.

After the container 22 has been sufficiently cooled, the heat transferfluid pressure may subsequently be reduced so that the sleeve 74 returnsto the normal position to permit removal of the container 22 from thesleeve receptacle 76. In addition, the sleeve material may have anoverall heat transfer coefficient of at least 1 W/m² to promote heattransfer between the container 22 and the heat transfer fluid. Exemplarysleeve materials that exhibit sufficient flexibility and heatconductivity include rubber, metal (such as stainless steel), and Mylarhaving a thickness of approximately 0.0005″ (0.0127 mm) to 0.031″ (0.794mm).

The sleeve assembly 70 further may be configured to promote more uniformdistribution of heat transfer fluid throughout the sleeve chamber 82. Asbest shown in FIG. 3, the sleeve inlet port 86 may be positioned along asleeve axis 102. Two sleeve outlet ports 92 may be positioned atdiametrically opposed locations near an upper end of the sleeve chamber82. Accordingly, heat transfer fluid will flow more uniformly throughthe entire sleeve chamber 82 along the paths between the sleeve inletport 86 and sleeve outlet ports 92. While two sleeve outlet ports 92 areshown in the exemplary embodiment, a single sleeve outlet port 92 ormore than two sleeve outlet ports 92 may be provided without departingfrom the scope of this disclosure.

The beverage container cooling system 20 may further include anagitation assembly 110 operably coupled to the sleeve assembly 70 andconfigured to oscillate the sleeve 74, thereby to cool the contents ofthe container 22 more uniformly and quickly. The sleeve assembly 70 maybe supported for pivoting movement, such as by a pivot shaft 112 coupledto the sleeve base 72 and journally supported by a pivot bearing (FIG.4). The agitation assembly 110 may include a motor 114 having arotatable motor shaft 116. A four bar linkage 118 may operably couplethe rotatable motor shaft 116 to the sleeve assembly 70. Morespecifically, the linkage 118 may include a motor arm 120 coupled to themotor shaft 116, a pivot arm 121 coupled to the pivot shaft 112, and anintermediate arm 124 extending between the motor arm 120 and the pivotarm 121. Thus, rotation of the motor shaft 116 is transmitted to thepivot shaft 112 by the linkage 118. While the four bar linkage 118 isshown in the exemplary embodiment, it will be appreciated that variousalternative mechanical connections may be used to transmit the rotationof the motor shaft 116 to the sleeve assembly 70, including a Scotchyoke assembly or a cam follower assembly. As further alternatives, themotor 114 may be directly coupled to the sleeve assembly 70 and mayincorporate a drive or other controls, such as a stepper motor with adrive, that produce the desired oscillation of the sleeve assembly 70.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the agitation assembly 110 may be configured tooscillate the sleeve assembly 70 in a reciprocal pivoting rotation. Inthe exemplary embodiment, the reciprocal pivoting motion is performedabout a yaw axis 122 that extends substantially perpendicular to thelongitudinal sleeve axis 102. During yaw axis pivoting, therefore, thesleeve assembly 70 (and container 22, when disposed in the sleeve 74) isrotated laterally in a yaw direction (identified by arrows 125), whichis in contrast to a rolling rotation about the longitudinal sleeve axis102 that is more commonly seen in conventional beverage containercooling devices.

The agitation assembly 110 may be configured to rotate the sleeveassembly 70 such that the longitudinal sleeve axis 102 reciprocatesbetween a first sleeve axis limit 126 and a second sleeve axis limit128. The first and second sleeve axis limits 126, 128 may lie insubstantially the same plane, and therefore a yaw angle α may be definedtherebetween. The agitation assembly 110 may be configured to produceany desired yaw angle α. In some embodiments, the yaw angle α isapproximately 10-200°. In other embodiments, the yaw angle α isapproximately 30-180°. In still other embodiments, the yaw angle α isapproximately 45-90°. The yaw angle α is shown as being substantiallysymmetrical about a yaw reference axis 129. In the illustratedembodiment, the yaw reference axis 129 is shown as being substantiallyvertical, however the yaw reference axis 129 may be disposed at anyangle.

The agitation assembly 110 may further be configured to oscillate thesleeve assembly 70 at a predetermined oscillation frequency f. Duringoperation, the agitation assembly 110 pivots the sleeve assembly 70 backand forth between the first and second sleeve axis limits 126, 128. Apivot cycle, therefore, is defined herein as a full rotation of thesleeve assembly 70 in a first or forward direction (e.g., from the firstsleeve axis limit 126 to the second sleeve axis limit 128) and a fullrotation of the sleeve assembly 70 back in a second or reverse direction(e.g., from the second sleeve axis limit 128 to the first sleeve axislimit 126). Accordingly, the oscillation frequency f is defined hereinas the number of pivot cycles performed per second. The speed of themotor 114 and/or drive transmission of the agitation assembly 110 may beselected to produce an oscillation frequency f of approximately 0.5-10Hertz.

The various components of the beverage container cooling system 20 maybe controlled by a controller 130, also referred to herein as aprocessor or a central processing unit (CPU). The controller may includeany suitable processor. The controller 130 may execute (or be physicallyconfigured according to) one or more programs stored in a computerreadable storage medium, in the form of a main memory 132. The mainmemory 132 may include a volatile memory (e.g., a random-access memory(RAM)) and a non-volatile memory (e.g., an EEPROM). The main memory 132may include multiple RAM and multiple program memories. The controller130 may further provide a display 136, at least one input module 138,and sensors (not shown). In general, the controller 130 is adapted toreceive operational inputs from the operator through the input module138, as well as sensors (not shown) located throughout the system, andto control operation of the beverage container cooling system 20 basedupon the inputs received. Accordingly, the controller 130 may beoperably coupled to and configured to control operation of thecompressor 36, the pump 88, and the motor 114.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

In operation, the foregoing embodiments of a cooling system may be usedto rapidly cool a container holding a beverage. More specifically, thecontainer 22 may be inserted into the sleeve receptacle 76 and heattransfer fluid may be circulated through the sleeve chamber 82. In someembodiments, such as the direct expansion system of FIG. 2, the heattransfer fluid may be the refrigerant that is directly circulatedthrough the refrigeration circuit 30. In other embodiments, such as theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the heat transfer fluid may be aseparate fluid that is stored in the reservoir chamber 62 and the pump88 may circulate the heat transfer fluid through the sleeve chamber 82.Simultaneous with the flow of heat transfer fluid, the agitationassembly 110 may be operated to promote mixing of the beverage inside ofthe container 22, thereby to more quickly and uniformly cool thebeverage. Specifically, the mixing induced by the agitation assemblywill bring relatively warm masses of beverage concentrated at a centerof the container toward a periphery of the container, thereby increasingthe amount of heat that is transferred out of the beverage and into theheat transfer fluid.

In order to maximize the amount of heat transfer between the container22 and the heat transfer fluid (and therefore the rate at which thebeverage is cooled) for a given mass flow rate R of heat transfer fluid,an Agitation Index has been identified to characterize the degree towhich the sleeve 74 is agitated. The Agitation Index is the product ofthe size of the yaw angle α and the oscillation frequency f produced bythe agitation assembly 110. During testing, with all other variablesheld substantially constant, it was determined that the rate of heatflow from the container (i.e., cooling) increased as the yaw angle αincreased. Similarly, again with all other variables held substantiallyconstant, it was determined that the rate of heat flow also increased asthe oscillation frequency f increased. Furthermore, while the increasedheat flow derived from larger yaw angle α and increased oscillationfrequency f is generally advantageous, the size of the yaw angle α andthe oscillation frequency f are limited by practical considerationsassociated with beverages offered for sale in a retail environment, suchas generation of foam in the beverage and available power supply. Basedon the foregoing, an Agitation Index suitable for use in a retaillocation may be approximately 90-450°/second. In an alternativeembodiment, the Agitation Index may be approximately 100-250°/second. Ina further alternative embodiment, the Agitation Index may beapproximately 150-175°/second. It will be appreciated that differentcombinations of yaw angle α and oscillation frequency f may achieve thesame value for the Agitation Index. For example, a relatively large yawangle α and a relatively small oscillation frequency f may lead to thesame value for the Agitation Index as a relatively small yaw angle α anda relatively large oscillation frequency f.

The time period required to cool a beverage from ambient temperature todesired drinking temperature is of particular interest to the consumerwhen purchasing the beverage at a retail location. While the shortesttime period is desired, practical considerations may limit how quickly abeverage may be cooled. For example, the power source available to runthe beverage container cooling system 20 may be limited to thattypically available in a retail, as opposed to industrial, application.Such conditions, therefore, may limit the size the compressor 36, pump88, motor 114, and other electrically operated components of thebeverage container cooling system 20. In view of the available powerlimitations, the compressor 36, pump 88, and motor 114 may be configuredto draw, in the aggregate, less than approximately 2400 Watts during anymode of system operation.

The system 20 must further be configured to provide a sufficient amountof cooling while still meeting the possible power limitations notedabove. In an active mode of operation, in which a series of beveragecontainers are successively inserted into and removed from the sleeveassembly 70, at least the compressor 36 and motor 114 will be operatedto provide the sufficient amount of cooling. To characterize the amountof cooling the system 20 may provide for a high volume of usage, aPerformance Index has been developed. The Performance Index is theproduct of a container size capacity, a frequency of usage per hour, anda beverage cooling temperature differential (i.e., the temperaturedifferential between ambient beverage temperature and desired beveragetemperature, measured in Kelvin). For example, in some applications thecontainer size capacity may be approximately 40-750 mL, while in otherapplications the container size capacity may be approximately 355-600mL. Similarly, in some applications the frequency of usage may beapproximately 1-240 cycles/hour, while in other applications thefrequency of usage may be approximately 5-20 cycles/hour. Still further,the beverage cooling temperature differential may be approximately 4-40Kelvin for certain applications, and may be approximately 10-30 Kelvinin other applications. Based on the foregoing, a Performance Indexsuitable for use in a retail location may be approximately 160-7,200,000mL-K/hr based on the broader range examples provided above.Alternatively, the Performance Index may be approximately 17,750-360,000mL-K/hr based on the narrower range examples provided above. It will beappreciated that different combinations of container size capacity,frequency of usage, and beverage cooling temperature differential mayachieve the same value for the Performance Index.

The system 20 may further be operated in a standby mode, when no activecooling is taking place, to maintain the sleeve 74 at a desired standbytemperature. For example, when the system 20 is between uses, thecontroller 130 may operate the compressor 36 (and pump 88, if a fluidreservoir 60 is provided) intermittently to maintain the sleeve at thestandby temperature. Operation in standby mode may be open loop, such asactivating the compressor for a set period of time at predeterminedstandby intervals, such as every 10-20 minutes. Alternatively, thestandby mode may use a feedback loop, such as sleeve temperature, tocontrol operation. In one embodiment, for example, the standby mode maybe used to maintain a standby sleeve temperature of approximately 0° C.based on feedback from a sleeve temperature sensor.

The foregoing description provides examples of the disclosed assemblyand technique. It is contemplated, however, that other implementationsof the disclosure may differ in detail from the foregoing examples. Allreferences to the disclosure or examples thereof are intended toreference the particular example being discussed at that point and arenot intended to imply any limitation as to the scope of the disclosuremore generally. All language of distinction and disparagement withrespect to certain features is intended to indicate a lack of preferencefor those features, but not to exclude such from the scope of thedisclosure entirely unless otherwise indicated.

Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as ashorthand method of referring individually to each separate valuefalling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and eachseparate value is incorporated into the specification as if it wereindividually recited herein. All methods described herein can beperformed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein orotherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Accordingly, this disclosure includes all modifications and equivalentsof the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permittedby applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-describedelements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by thedisclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearlycontradicted by context.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for chilling a product containerholding a beverage, the apparatus comprising: a refrigeration circuitincluding a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator, therefrigeration circuit being configured to provide a refrigerant in theevaporator at a temperature of less than approximately −40° C.; a sleeveassembly including: a sleeve base; and a flexible sleeve coupled to thebase and defining a longitudinal sleeve axis, the flexible sleevedefining a sleeve receptacle configured to receive the product containerand a sleeve chamber thermally coupled to the evaporator; an agitationassembly operably coupled to the sleeve base and configured to pivot thesleeve assembly about a yaw axis substantially perpendicular to thelongitudinal sleeve axis; and a controller operably coupled to thecompressor and agitation assembly.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, in whichthe refrigeration circuit includes at least one internal heat exchanger.3. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the controller is programmed tooperate the agitation assembly to rotate the sleeve axis between a firstsleeve limit axis and a second sleeve limit axis, and in which a yawangle is defined between the first and second sleeve limit axes.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3, in which the yaw angle is approximately 10-200°.5. The apparatus of claim 3, in which the controller is programmed tooperate the agitation assembly to oscillate the sleeve assembly at anoscillation frequency f of approximately 0.5-10 Hertz.
 6. The apparatusof claim 1, further comprising: a fluid reservoir defining a reservoirchamber for holding a heat transfer fluid, at least a portion of thereservoir chamber being located in thermal conductive relation to theevaporator, the reservoir chamber fluidly communicating with the sleevechamber; and a pump operative to circulate the heat transfer fluid inthe reservoir chamber through the sleeve chamber.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1, in which the sleeve chamber includes a sleeve inlet portpositioned in a first end portion of the sleeve, and at least one sleeveoutlet port positioned in a second end portion of the sleeve oppositethe first end portion.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, in which theagitation assembly comprises a motor operably coupled to the controllerand mechanically coupled to the sleeve assembly.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 1, in which the sleeve comprises a sleeve material having anoverall heat transfer coefficient of at least 1 W/m².
 10. The apparatusof claim 1, in which the container includes a container sidewall and acontainer bottom wall, and in which the sleeve receptacle includes areceptacle sidewall and a receptacle bottom wall adapted to engage thecontainer sidewall and container bottom wall, respectively.
 11. Anapparatus for chilling a product container, the apparatus comprising: arefrigeration circuit including a compressor, a condenser, and anevaporator, the refrigeration circuit being configured to provide arefrigerant in the evaporator at a temperature of less thanapproximately −40° C.; a sleeve assembly including: a sleeve base; and aflexible sleeve coupled to the base and defining a longitudinal sleeveaxis, the flexible sleeve defining a sleeve receptacle configured toreceive the product container and a sleeve chamber thermally coupled tothe evaporator; and an agitation assembly operably coupled to the sleevebase and configured to pivot the sleeve assembly about a yaw axissubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal sleeve axis across a yawangle α and at an oscillation frequency f to provide an Agitation Indexof approximately 90-450°/sec.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, furthercomprising: a fluid reservoir defining a reservoir chamber for holding aheat transfer fluid, at least a portion of the reservoir chamber beinglocated in thermal conductive relation to the evaporator, the reservoirchamber fluidly communicating with the sleeve chamber; and a pumpoperative to circulate the heat transfer fluid in the reservoir chamberthrough the sleeve chamber.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, in which theagitation assembly is configured to oscillate the sleeve axis between afirst sleeve limit axis and a second sleeve limit axis, and in which theyaw angle is defined between the first and second sleeve limit axes. 14.The apparatus of claim 13, in which the yaw angle is approximately10-200°.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, in which the agitation assemblyis configured to oscillate the sleeve assembly at an oscillationfrequency of approximately 0.5-10 Hertz.
 16. An apparatus for chilling aproduct container, the apparatus comprising: a refrigeration circuitincluding a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator, therefrigeration circuit being configured to provide a refrigerant in theevaporator at a temperature of less than approximately −40° C.; a sleeveassembly including: a sleeve base; and a flexible sleeve coupled to thebase and defining a longitudinal sleeve axis, the flexible sleevedefining a sleeve receptacle configured to receive the product containerand a sleeve chamber thermally coupled to the evaporator; an agitationassembly operably coupled to the sleeve base and configured to oscillatethe sleeve, the agitation assembly including an agitator motor; and acontroller operably coupled to the compressor and agitator motor, thecontroller having an active mode in which the compressor and agitatormotor are operated to provide a Performance Index of approximately160-7,200,000 mL-K/hr.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, in which thePerformance Index is based on a size of the product container ofapproximately 40-750 mL, a usage frequency of approximately 1-240cycles/hour, and a beverage cooling temperature differential ofapproximately 4-40 Kelvin.
 18. The apparatus of claim 16, in which thecontroller further has a standby mode in which the compressor isoperated periodically to cool the flexible sleeve to a standbytemperature.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, in which the compressor andagitator motor are configured to draw less than an aggregate total ofapproximately 2400 Watts in both the standby and active modes.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 18, further comprising a fluid reservoir defining areservoir chamber for holding a heat transfer fluid, at least a portionof the reservoir chamber being located in thermal conductive relation tothe evaporator, the reservoir chamber fluidly communicating with thesleeve chamber, and a pump operative to circulate the heat transferfluid in the reservoir chamber through the sleeve chamber, and in whichthe pump is also operated periodically in the standby mode.